Spouse visa "maintenance funds" please help..

[Robert86]

Hello guys, got some good news.. I emailed Prof Metcalfe (Chairman of the MAC Migration Committee) i told him in my email my concerns that this could affect me greatly.. i got a reply just today from his secretary, this is what it read, Dr Mr Mcclure,

Professor Metcalf has asked me to reply on his behalf. The MAC report related to a specific economic question. It also acknowledged that there are moral, social and legal dimensions to family migration. The MAC is an advisory body only. The Government is free to decide whether or not to implement the range set out by the MAC, and to date there has been no announcement of a decision...

so that is some good news, that maybe it might not be implemented and that there is other factors.. not just economics .

[joebloggs]

Hello guys, got some good news.. I emailed Prof Metcalfe (Chairman of the MAC Migration Committee) i told him in my email my concerns that this could affect me greatly.. i got a reply just today from his secretary, this is what it read, Dr Mr Mcclure,

Professor Metcalf has asked me to reply on his behalf. The MAC report related to a specific economic question. It also acknowledged that there are moral, social and legal dimensions to family migration. The MAC is an advisory body only. The Government is free to decide whether or not to implement the range set out by the MAC, and to date there has been no announcement of a decision...

so that is some good news, that maybe it might not be implemented and that there is other factors.. not just economics .

Mac advises the gov on job shortages and i think most of the time the gov implements those recommendations, but as you've said other factors moral, social and legal need to be looked at, so its not so straight forward.

[Robert86]

hi, would like to know is it possible to bring spouse via the EEA Family permit?

[Terpe]

hi, would like to know is it possible to bring spouse via the EEA Family permit?

Robert,
You are living in Belfast right?
Do you already have dual UK/Irish citizenship?

The rules right now are very fluid on this and it could be a little bit of a gamble, but I think in your overall circumstances it could be a risk worth taking.
The Home office have not yet issued their policy on this and many applicants have been OK. It may take extra time though.

[Robert86]

hello terpe yes im in northern ireland although i do not have dual citizenship though i can apply for irish passport..

[Terpe]

hello terpe yes im in northern ireland although i do not have dual citizenship though i can apply for irish passport..

OK Robert, firstly here are the UKBA information links on the EEA family permit route.

Take a look at the UKBA page for EEA Family Permit for details of what it is and how to apply.

Look here also for some very good additional information on the EEA Family Permit.

British citizens living in UK are not EEA nationals for the purpose of the European rules.
That means that their family members don't qualify and need to apply under the national rules.

There is a possible exception if the British citizen is exercising economic treaty rights in another EEA state whilst they and their family members live there.

Technically, if British citizens also have another EEA citizenship their family members may be granted EEA family permits and residence cards under the European rules.

The 'risk' for dual British/Irish citizens thinking of using this route is that The European Court of Justice has previously handed down it's ruling on this and has dismissed an appeal based on the case of McCarthy v Secretary of State for the Home Department -Case C-434/09

What this means is that dual nationals living in a country of their nationality who have never exercised free movement rights cannot rely on European rules.

At the moment the Home Office MAY choose to grant EEA family permits and residence cards to family members of persons in this situation.

However Robert, please be aware that the status granted is not legally held, it is solely a policy decision by the Home Office and this could change at anytime. Just now it's a totally unpredictable situation.

Although the Home Office has allowed the family members of dual British/other EEA citizens to use the European route and still does. They have not yet responded to the McCarthy ruling in any way.

They may do so at any time or may never do so, nobody knows.

If the Home Office does in fact follow the 'McCarthy ruling' it might also be deemed unreasonable to appeal if your wife were refused, since technically the Home Office would be legally correct.

You may seriously consider this route can still be worth the risk to apply, after all, there is no financial cost, BUT the waiting time is an unknown factor.

The EEA family permit is principally a "right" and so in principle there is no need to have money, to have suitable accommodation, to have been married for more than a day or to have the spouse pass any English Language test.

Another aspect to bear in mind is that currently under the EEA familily permit your wife needs 5 years of UK residence to acquire UK permanent residence, (same as ILR), then another one year as a permanent resident in order to qualify for the naturalisation application.(current UK Spouse Visa rules are 2 years to ILR, then additional 1 year to qualify for the naturalisation application.)

Mind you, that might change for the regular UK Spouse route after April 2012 if the govt introduces it's proposed changes.

You'll need to do some reading of the above links and to also consider the risks vs benefits, no-one can advise or guide you it's solely down to you.

Whichever route you finally decide on, I wish you good luck

[Robert86]

Terpe, thank you very much for your detailed response i appreciate it i think we will go down the uk spouse route.. and just hope that these new minimum income requirements do not come into force.. thanks again

[Arthur Little]

hi, would like to know is it possible to bring spouse via the EEA Family permit?

I THINK it COULD be, Robert ... with your being from Belfast (which, incidentally, I've only just noticed! ). Citizens of the Irish Republic ARE, DEFINITELY eligible to bring a spouse via the EEA Family Permit. And it seems feasible someone from Northern Ireland may well be able to take advantage of some form of reciprocal Agreement between the "two" neighbouring countries if I'm not mistaken.

I would certainly hope this might be the case ... because, if so, it'd make things a lot more straightforward ... PLUS ... a HUGE + ... there'd be NO visa fee to pay!

Terpe is likely to be the best person to advise you for sure in this respect.

[Arthur Little]

Terpe is likely to be the best person to advise you for sure in this respect.

... talk of "the devil" ... , Terpe!

[Robert86]

Arthur once again thanks for your help

[lastlid]

Hello guys, got some good news.. I emailed Prof Metcalfe (Chairman of the MAC Migration Committee) i told him in my email my concerns that this could affect me greatly.. i got a reply just today from his secretary, this is what it read, Dr Mr Mcclure,

Professor Metcalf has asked me to reply on his behalf. The MAC report related to a specific economic question. It also acknowledged that there are moral, social and legal dimensions to family migration. The MAC is an advisory body only. The Government is free to decide whether or not to implement the range set out by the MAC, and to date there has been no announcement of a decision...

so that is some good news, that maybe it might not be implemented and that there is other factors.. not just economics .

Hi Robert. Presumably this is the body that was involved in the consulatation on changes to immigration requirements through the marriage route?

Fortunately we have our spouse visa now but there are still further hurdles ahead for us to clear, so of course I hope that there are no changes ahead for us or anybody else, for that matter. It's just that I cant help thinking that there will be changes, even if it is no more than an increase in the already excessive visa application fees, along with their associated miscellaneous costs .

I think someone posted on here just a few days ago that they thought the government couldn't possibly implement the changes that are discussed in the consultation. But of course they can and have systematically been making changes since they came into government, making it harder and more costly to come into the UK via the marriage route. I dont think that precedent is going to change much and there will be some tweaks afoot as a minimum, just a question of how many and how big.

Thanks for taking the trouble to post your findings. Cheers.